Regarding a growing company, who thrives on functioning with the limited means
available, accounting software for small businesses can be of enormous help. Small
business owners benefit from accounting software to perform the functions of tracking
the accounts receivable and accounts payable, understanding the concept of
profitability, monitoring revenue, cost planning, and economic planning.
Practicing detailed financial bookkeeping is always has been and still is the critical
element for running a business. There are many accounting software available that fit
perfectly for small businesses. You can choose among the best accounting software
depending on the type of industry and the number of employees present.
In this blog, we have listed the five best accounting software for small businesses of 2022.
These tools can help you track and manage inventory, measure economic
performance, manage payroll services, business finances, and many more.
What Is Accounting Software For Small Businesses?
Small business owners search for accounting software to handle their day-to-day
accounting calculations efficiently. In addition, such accounting software allows
accountants and bookkeepers to record their firm’s financial transactions.
Large firms will hire professional accountants to use customized accounting solutions.
Whereas for small business firms, off-the-shelf accounting software will be an immense
help.
With such software, owners with their accounting skills can avail themselves functions such as
invoicing, accounts payable, accounts receivable, online payment, financial statement
preparation, profit-and-loss statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement, taxation,
and many others.
What Are The Best Small Business Accounting Softwares?
From a pool of accounting software, some of which support small businesses
through a variety of functions and affordable pricing, include:
- FreshBooks
- QuickBooks Online
- Wave
- Xero
- Zoho Books
1. FreshBooks
Small business owners can have the best solution for invoicing from FreshBooks
accounting software. It is one of the best accounting solutions for making financial
management easy. FreshBooks is a coherent accounting solution that provides functions
such as sending, receiving, printing, and paying invoices.
FreshBooks is service-based accounting software that acts as the best accounting
solution because of its exceptional usability and aesthetic features. The features like
regular backups and its mobile app let you track your business consistently.
The pros of FreshBooks include:
- Cloud-based
- User-friendly interface
- Third-party app integration
- Double-entry accounting
- Inventory tracking
- Detailed client records
- Estimate and retainer functionality
- Easy invoicing
In addition, the cons of FreshBooks are:
- No payroll service
- The mobile app lacks some of the site features
- No quarterly tax estimation
FreshBooks provides resources that can support your small business with features like
invoicing, expenses, time tracking, projects, payments, reporting, and accounting.
FreshBooks is available for $7.50 per month for the Lite plan. In addition, there are three
unique plans other than the Lite plan. The most popular is the Plus plan for $12.50 per
month to manage up to 50 clients.
2. QuickBooks Online
Intuit QuickBooks Online is one of the best overall accounting software for small
businesses. It provides the most popular functions with live bookkeeping, managing
expenses, accounting, payroll, payments, and tax. Most small business owners use
QuickBooks Online because of its depth, flexibility, extensibility, and endless training
resources and support.
QuickBooks Online is a cloud accounting software solution that helps accountants,
bookkeepers, small business owners, and financial officers. It allows you to track
income, expenses, send invoices, receive payment, send estimates, track sales and
taxes, and many more.
With one of the best mobile accounting app, the pros of QuickBooks Online are:
● Excellent user interface
● Third-party application integration
● Scalable
● Customizable reports
● Payroll management and support
● Hybrid sales tax option
● Cash flow management
● Track inventory
The cons of QuickBooks Online include:
- Occasional synching problems
- Not very accurate auto-categorization
- Online support lacking
Intuit QuickBooks Online is available to you for $12.50 for the Simple Start plan. There
are three other plans, namely Essentials, Plus, and Advanced. The plus plan is the most
popular at $35 per month. You can include five users, track inventory, and track project
profitability.
3. Wave
Wave is one of the best free accounting software to help you make, move and manage
your money. It is an exciting accounting solution for small business owners and
individual contractors. It provides a user-friendly dashboard with many features. The
Wave is free software covering all accounting features such a recurring billing, invoice
templates, multi-currency support, expense tracking, and double-entry accounting.
Wave is best suited for freelancers and small business owners. It also lets you
incorporate multiple businesses with the same account. In addition, most of its services
are free unless you sign up for payroll or customer payments.
The pros of Wave are:
- Free software (payment and payroll incur fees)
- Excellent user interface with navigation tools
- Multi-currency support
- Unlimited number of users
- Multiple businesses in one account
- Instant payouts
- Double-entry accounting
- Pre-authorize recurring credit card payments
The cons of Wave include:
- Limited third party application integration
- No inventory management
- Simple record templates
- No time tracking features or comprehensive mobile app
- Weak invoice customization
Xero is the most simple accounting software that is apt for micro-business owners. It
helps them incur robust account reconciliation, data imports, sales, and purchase
transactions, reconcile bank transactions, track inventory, and capture records for easier
record-keeping.
4. Xero
Xero is fully integrated with third-party payroll services that simplify standard accounting processes. In addition, it lets you get financial performance reports and connect your bank account to a seamless experience. Xero’s impressive feature is its mobile experience that allows small business owners to work on the go.
Xero’s advantages include:
- Cloud-based integration
- Mobile application
- Impressive dashboard
- Thorough reconciliation tools
- Project tracking
- Exceptional online support
- Simple inventory management
Whereas, the cons of the Xero accounting software include:
- Limited reporting
- No reorder level in inventory
- Expenses handled in separate mobile app
You can avail the features of Xero with the Starter plan of $20 per month. It is said to be
suitable for sole traders, new businesses, and the self-employed. Xero pricing plan is
segregated into three, including the Starter plan. The most used and popular good for
growing small businesses is the Standard plan for $30 per month. The next upgrade is
the Premium plan for $40 per month, suitable for established companies of all sizes.
5. Zoho Books
Zoho Books is an excellent automation accounting software for cloud-based small
business accounting. It is an innovative accounting solution software designed to
manage cash flow and finances. In addition, Zoho Books is known for automation
workflows that enable you to work collectively across departments.
Zoho Books is a robust platform that projects usability, flexibility, bookkeeping features
like sales and purchase, inventory management, and project tracking. Some of the
features of Zoho include invoicing, client portal, invoice receivables and payables,
inventory, banking, timesheet, purchase orders, online payment, and more.
The pros of Zoho Books include:
- Ease of use
- Multiple payment gateways
- Document management
- Dozens of custom fields
- In-depth record and transaction forms
- Affordable
- Invoice distribution and tracking
The cons exhibited in Zoho Books are:
- The payroll feature is only accessible in Texas, California, New York, and India
- Does not integrate with third-party payroll providers
- Limited pool of accounting partners
Apart from the Free plan, suitable for businesses with less than $50K turnover, there are
three other plans. First, you can avail of the Standard plan for $15 per organization or
per month. The remaining two are the Professional plan and the Premium plan with $40
and $60, respectively.
To Sum Up
With many accounting software for small businesses in play, you can choose the best
suitable one according to your needs. Here we have given the top five accounting
software that is suitable for small business owners. Through these, they can perform
various accounting functions and avail the software at a minimal rate. Therefore, to
move forward with your accounting practices, utilize these platforms to upgrade your
business play.